Wolfpack drop Stanford at home

By Halifax Media Group

Published: Wednesday, December 19, 2012 at 12:19 AM.

Dwight Powell’s 23 points and eight rebounds paced the Cardinal (7-4), coached by Johnny Dawkins, the legendary former Duke player and longtime assistant coach for the Blue Devils under Mike Krzyzewski.

Powell scored 15 points in the first half, his blend of size (6-foot-10), leaping ability around the rim and shooting touch from the perimeter, clearing irritating Howell and Leslie on defense at times.

Aaron Bright connected on four 3s and finished with 16 points off the Stanford bench. Chasson Randle (11 points) and Josh Huestis (10 points, eight rebounds) chipped in contributions for the Cardinal.

N.C. State led 43-38 at halftime, with Wood’s 15 points fueling the Wolfpack at that juncture, despite him going scoreless during the last nine minutes of the first half.

TIP-INS …: N.C. State was credited with 11 blocked shots, its most since November 2010. … It was the first true road game of the season for Stanford. … The Wolfpack has won 14 straight games when Wood has knocked down four or more 3s.

RALEIGH – After Scott Wood rained down a long-range barrage to get North Carolina State off and moving, the Wolfpack found an even more effective, attacking gear with Lorenzo Brown as the conductor.

It became a combination that Wood needed only one word to fully describe.

“Dangerous,” he said, following the 25th-ranked Wolfpack’s balanced 88-79 victory against Stanford on Tuesday night at PNC Arena.

Standing a few feet away in the opposite corner of a post-game interview room, Brown nodded his head in agreement.

“Once Scott is hitting 3-pointers like that, it opens it up for everybody else,” he said. “That is the right way to say it. It is dangerous.”

Brown, a junior, equaled a career high with 24 points, an assertive 18 of them delivered on an array of drives during the second half, when the Wolfpack built a lead as large as 17 points.

There was extra room to operate, Brown said, after Wood caught fire in the first half and buried a flurry of five 3s during the game’s opening 11 minutes, pushing N.C. State to an early 29-20 edge.

“They got a little afraid of it,” Brown said. “I would be, too, with a guy like Scott shooting the ball.”

Richard Howell added 17 points and 12 rebounds, registering his fifth double-double in the six games, and C.J. Leslie scored 17 points for N.C. State (8-2), which picked up its fourth consecutive victory.

“You’ve got a couple options,” Wood said, referring to Stanford’s choices defensively. “Either you’re going to help off, or you’re not, and Zo’s going to make you pay.

“They didn’t want to help off me as much in the second half. So it definitely opened up the lane and it opened up a couple easy post-ups. That’s just how it works sometimes.”

Last December, when these teams met on the West Coast in Palo Alto, Calif., the Wolfpack frittered away a 12-point second half lead and lost 76-72 – the frustration compounded by foul trouble that ensnared Wood and Brown and leg cramps that hobbled Leslie.

There was no wasting of a double-digit lead in the second half Tuesday night, even though Stanford crept within seven with 5½ minutes remaining.

“No flashbacks,” Brown said.

Dwight Powell’s 23 points and eight rebounds paced the Cardinal (7-4), coached by Johnny Dawkins, the legendary former Duke player and longtime assistant coach for the Blue Devils under Mike Krzyzewski.

Powell scored 15 points in the first half, his blend of size (6-foot-10), leaping ability around the rim and shooting touch from the perimeter, clearing irritating Howell and Leslie on defense at times.

Aaron Bright connected on four 3s and finished with 16 points off the Stanford bench. Chasson Randle (11 points) and Josh Huestis (10 points, eight rebounds) chipped in contributions for the Cardinal.

N.C. State led 43-38 at halftime, with Wood’s 15 points fueling the Wolfpack at that juncture, despite him going scoreless during the last nine minutes of the first half.

TIP-INS …: N.C. State was credited with 11 blocked shots, its most since November 2010. … It was the first true road game of the season for Stanford. … The Wolfpack has won 14 straight games when Wood has knocked down four or more 3s.